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To all true Iranians:
Feb 19 is the commemoration day of the start of the battle of Qaddissiya.
Qadissiya battle started on Monday February 19, 636(A.D) and lasted for four(4) days.

On the flat plains near the Euphrates river in modern Iraq between Kufa and abu sukheir.

The Sassanian army under the command of Lt. General Rostam-e-farokzad(In Pahlavi- Eran- Sepah-bod) and the Arab army of caliph Omar under the command of Sa'd ibn Abi waqqas clashed.

Many Iranians fought bravely and died( more than30,000 dead) in this battle trying to defend Iran from the nomadic Arabs attempting to convert Iranians to their Islamic religion.

At the end of the battle Lt. Gen Rostam was killed and the national flag (Darfash-e-Kavian) was captured by the Arab nomads.

This flag was taken to Caliph Omar who promptly removed all of the magnificent jewels set on it and then ordered it to be burned.

After the battle the Arabs went to the capital Ctesiphone, the glorious capital of Sasanian empire and the largest city in the world at that time, the city was invaded, sacked, and functionally destroyed by the armies of Islam.

The great Carpet of BAHARESTAN, woven with threads of gold and silver in the great arched hall of the palace of Ctesiphone was cut up by the Arab nomads and distributed as war booty.

Note:- this looting is still going on 1370 years later.

Gondi Shapour university and library were destroyed and its books were burned by the invaders. Most of Sasanian records and literary works were destroyed.

This day Feb 19 should be commemorated by all Iranians nationally and internationally.

This is our real national "Ashura" not the one the Mullahs force us to commemorate.

Instead of going on a pilgrimage to Mecca and Karbla we should all go to Qaddissiya to remind ourselves of the truth of what has happened to us over the past 1370 years.

It is our duty to inform the world as well as remind the Arab world itself of their crimes and barbaric behaviour against the people of Iran during this period.

Arabs should be reminded of their massacres of Iranians in the city of Estakher and other areas.

They should be reminded of their racist policies and their looting, pillaging, raping and abuse of Iran and its people for the 200 years of their rule.

We should do our utmost to ensure that it will never happen again.

In memory of the fallen of battles of Qadissyia and Nahavand.

Payandeh Iran

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It is by forgetting our real history that we have allowed Islam to continue to strangle our country. Any Iranian who chooses to follow the bogus religion of the Arabic pirates of the desert must question whether he or she is true to Iran.

By forgetting or neglecting Iranís history we only bring shame to the memory of our forefathers and to ourselves. We bring shame to the great nation of Iran.

But Sassanian wealth and beauty caught the eye
Of a desert tribe, whose religion was a lie
Like desert snakes, they ruthlessly attacked
Until beautiful Ctesiphone was sacked

Rostam-e-Farokhzad, the brave and capable general
Fought till the end, though his wounds were several
At Qaddissiya, he came to Iranís defense
Alas, the Taazi army was too dense

With coercion and the sword
Islam was able to spread its word
A dark and sinister force was born
That to this day brings Iran much scorn

Some to India had to flee
Iranís destruction was unbearable to see
Parsees, they are called to this day
Ahura Mazda, with them will always stay

But Iranian roots are strong and hard to kill
Iran was freed again, with such a thrill
The Saffarids would answer the nationís call
To make Arab tyranny shamefully fall

Donít mourn the Ashura, weep a Taaziís death
Hassan and Hossein were foreigners, who weakened Iranís breath
If mourn you must, then mourn, a national event
Like Gaugamela, or Qaddissiya, places of great lament_________________I am Dariush the Great King, King of Kings, King of countries containing all kinds of men, King in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenian, a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage

INTRODUCTION:
An army is a country's military, and a commander-in-chief (CIC) is a person in charge of all the armed forces of a country or of all forces fighting in a particular area or operation. In this article, the life and the battles of the first Iranian famous CIC, Rostam-e-Farrokh Zaad (RFZ), are presented and discussed.

HIS LIFE:
The birth-date and the birthplace of RFZ, the first Iranian famous army commander, are unknown. It is, however, speculated that he should have been born about the same time when Khosrow Parviz (KHP) was succeeded to the Sassanid throne in 590 AD.It is also reported that RFZ possibly belonged to a noble family from Fars. On the basis of Ferdowsi's epic book of Shahnameh, RFZ was knowledgeable in astronomy, astrology and he was a master of military skills. Ferdowsi describes him as one of the finest warriors (in Persian: Delavaraan or Razmandehggan) of Iran. At 40 when Hormoz or Hormizd VI was in power (631- 632 AD), RFZ was one of the four Marshals of the Monarchy, and he promoted as a CIC when Yazdegerd or Yazdgird III took power in 632 AD.

After the death of KHP in 628 AD until the reign of Yazdgird III at 632 AD, there were seven Sassanid royal personalities (SRP) who ruled over Iran. During that period, Iran was unfortunately facing some political and economical problems. One of the reasons for those problems was the prolonged war between Iran and Rome, which almost broke the backbone of Iranian economy. At the same time the neighboring Muslim Arabs under Umar-ibn-al-Khattab (634 - 644 AD) were planning to attack and to conquer Iran. It should be noted that during those days most Iranians and people of Central Asia resisted firmly the Arab invaders and they also, by their teeth and nails, fought the invaders from the beginning up to the end.

HIS BATTLES:
In 635 AD, Umar appointed Abu Obayd Ibn Al Mossana to be in charge of the War with Iran. An intense battle between the Arabs and Iranian armies occurred, and Euphrates River was the battle scene. The Iranian Army Commander was no one else but RFZ, the CIC of Iran. Iranians won this battle and Arabs ran away. RFZ knew that he had to chase Arabs all the way back and defeat them in their own land. Yet he was called upon to get back to Madaa-en or Ctesiphone, the Sassanid Capital near present-day Baghdad.

This gave Arabs an opportunity to rest, regroup and a year later they started their invasion once more. In 636 AD, RFZ faced the most important battle of his life. RFZ and his Selected Immortal Guards or SIG (in Persian: Gaard-e-Jaavidan) together with the Iranian Infantry and Cavalry on one side and the Arabs under Sa'ad-Ibn-Abi-Vaghas (SAV) on the other side got ready for the battle in Ghadesiyeh near Hira. Iranian Army was a traditional organized military force, yet Arabs were fighting hit and run commando warfare. Umar ordered SAV not to take any Iranian soldier as the prisoner of war, POW, and kill any POW instead. It seemed like the nature was not even with the Iranian fighters at the time. A sand storm came from the desert and hit the Iranians straight on the face, and blinded them.

Ferdowsi has documented that during a night in Ghadesiyeh, RFZ, the astrologer, read the stars and he foresaw and anticipated his defeat, the fall of Sassanid Empire, and the disasters, which Iran would face. He then wrote a letter to his brother and notified him what was going to happen:

HIS END:
Ultimately, Arabs under SAV defeated the Sassanid army in the battle of Ghadesiyeh. When SAV sent a letter to RFZ and invited him to surrender his artilleries and forces, and bring Islam, so he could be saved, RFZ laughed at messenger. He then extended his right arm toward the Iranian land that he was standing upon, and loudly declared:

THIS SOIL IS MY BLOOD AND VEINS;

I CANNOT GIVE IT AWAY. I NEED IT TO LIVE!

When night came, Arabs rushed into his strong hold. It is documented that RFZ bravely fought until the last drop of his blood and at the end even after he lost his sword, he fought Arabs with bare hand and no shield. RFZ and his SIG killed as many Arabs as they could. Then a group of Arabs rushed over and attacked him in all directions. Eventually RFZ was sadly killed by the hands of Helaal-e-Arab, an army commander under SAV in 636 AD.

MANY IRANIANS STILL SALUTE TO ROSTAM-E-FARROKH ZAAD WHO SKILLFULLY COMMANDED HIS ARMY AND BRAVELY BATTLED AGAINST THE INVADING ARABS UNTIL THE LAST DROP OF HIS BLOOD!

Manouchehr Saadat Noury - Persian Journal
http://www.persian.ws/poetryhttp://www.expage.com/firstiranians_________________I am Dariush the Great King, King of Kings, King of countries containing all kinds of men, King in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenian, a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage